A poker player's quest to overcome variance and build his bankroll, one hand at a time.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Bodog Cash Games, and going deep in an MTT

I played some cash games on Bodog around noon. It went pretty well. I decided to 3-table 10NL and basically played ABC poker, doubling my buy-in on one of the tables (20$), tripling it at another(32$), and breaking even in the third one(~10$). I also went pretty deep in a 5$ MTT (multi-table tournament), placing 15th/520 before busting due largely to a huge call that I (unfortunately) made.

You definitely have to look out for the huge donks in the MTT's. Super early on, I was dealt QJo and elected to limp in. The blinds were 15/30 (the 1st level). There were two other callers, and the board came J10A. Everyone checked around, and the turn was a golden K. I bet around half the pot to look weak and perhaps solicit a call when this maniac dude to my left minraised me (240). There were now two clubs on the board and I didn't want to let him draw cheap so I reraised to 600. He went all-in and I figured that he had a queen for sure and we were going to split the pot. I call, and he flips up A3 with only one club. With four cards to a straight on the board he pushed all in with Ace and a crappy kicker. Some players puzzle me, but hey, thanks for the easy double up.

A couple hands later with 3k in chips I was dealt a shiny-looking AKs and raised it up 3x the Big Blind. I get one caller , and the board is Kxx. I bet pretty aggressively, and he calls. I put him all in on the river and he calls with KQ. My top pair top kicker takes the pot and I am up to about 5k.

I then lose half my stack with AA, playing a very poor hand. I raise 3x the BB and get a couple callers. The board is 862, and I bet around 2/3 the pot, hoping to induce a raise from someone with top pair. Mistake #1. I get a caller, and the next card is a 7. I then check the turn: Mistake #2. He check behind, and the river is a 9. I check, and he bets 1/3 the pot (1200 into ~3600 pot). I reluctantly call, and he shows 10 8s for the 4-card straight. I played this hand very poorly and let the turn card scare me into thinking that he somehow turned a straight with a 45 or 910. I should have just shoved.

I go down to 1.4k in chips. There are 6 limpers and 900 in chips in the pot. I look down at Qh5h and my mind screams "Squeeze play!". So I go all in, hoping that either everyone folds or I get some hearts/queens on the board. Everyone folds, and I am back to 2.2k.

I moved to a new table, and promptly the dealer gives me AKo. There is a 3xbb raise from the cutoff position, and a call. I go all in, the original raiser calls, and one other guy calls. The raiser flips up QQ, and the other guy shows 55. Fortunately I win the raise, catching a K on the flop, and I triple up to 7.5k.

Many hands later, I get dealt 1010 in the BB. Everyone folds to the BB, who raises 4xbb. He did this often, and a couple times I defended my blinds with success (happening to have good hands both times). I elected to just call here, and the flop came rags with a King. There was already more than 4k in the pot, and I checked to him. He bet 1.5k. I called, feeling weakness with such a small bet and only one overcard to my 1010. Turn came a blank, and he bet 1.5k again. With such great pot odds (1.5k into a 7k pot), I called again. River was a Q, and my opponent bet out 3k. I had 8k at that point, and figured that A. there was no way in hell I was folding (3k into a 13k pot) and B. this guy is weak, but if he does have it and I call, I only go down to 5k instead of being knocked out (he was basically pot committed and would likely call my all in. So I call, and he shows AJo for Ace-high. I rake in the 13k pot and go up to 21k and am in the top 20 in chips (with about 90 people left).

Now for the hand that screwed me. With 24k and blinds at 500/1000 and 125 ante, I limped in behind a couple others with KhQh. Several limpers follow, and the flop is 9Q9. A couple people check, and I bet half the pot (~4.5k). A couple folds, and one guy min-raises me to 9k. At this point I should have had alarm bells going on as a minraise often means strength. Nevertheless with the enormous odds I called. As soon as the turn came, he immediately shoved for 8k. Now this really looked like a bluff to me, but I should have known that he was actually protecting his hand from the flush draw on the board. So with 16k in chips and an enormous pot, I called, and he flipped over 10c9c for trips. The river was no help, and I was down to 8k. What a blower.

I get moved to another table, and steal blinds a couple times against some enormous stacks. Finally I get caught going all in with 6d9d by AQo. The board hits none of us, and I am out in 15th/520. Not too bad but its a bit disappointing considering that I was close to a final table and was looking at around 600$ for 1st and a couple hundo guaranteed for the top 4. Oh well, that's poker. I made my buy in back plus a couple bucks, and I gained some more experience (i.e. fear the minraise, keep pots smaller without the nuts). The Bodog-Ferguson project is going as planned and I played fairly well on FT. Not too bad IMO. We'll get to the final table again in time.